I Love You
by Ginnie
Summary: How much do these words mean? Until when will Rukawa Kaede keep these words from Sendoh Akira?


** I LOVE YOU **   
G Lee 

A/N: This is my first fic using my own plot... All my other fics (short story and poem not included) are all songfics, just in case my dearly beloved reader/s is/are interested to know... So, please be gentle if you intend to review... P.S. - This is as totally devoid as possible of Japanese phrases. 

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_ ==Akira== _   
Silence.   
No, it wasn't the awkward silence between strangers. It was the silence that exists between friends and lovers, the comforting stillness that passed a million or so unspoken words between us.   
We were just sitting there among the dunes, watching as the waves crashed on the shore, as the sun sank down beneath the horizon, and as the dolphins created a majestic scene against the pink-orange sky.   
I breathed deeply, inhaling the salty sea air, the sea mist gently kissing my face. I turned to the raven-haired being sitting next to me.   
His eyes of deep cerulean scanned the surface of the ocean, the boyish pleasure that he was taking from watching the splendor evident in his eyes, those which revealed so much when he wanted to, and concealed just as much when he wished it to be.   
Once again, I marveled at how lucky I was to be the guy that he chose, amongst many others who wanted him for theirselves. There was a time when Sakuragi nearly won him over, but...   
I smiled to myself. Kaede neither turned nor twitched. Either he didn't see me or he's just used to it - either seemed possible.   
I snuggled up to him and put my arm around his shoulder in a half-embrace, whereas he leaned his head against me.   
I planted a kiss on his forehead, and - out of sheer impulse - murmured into his ear, "I love you."   
How I long for him to say those words to me... But Kaede just wasn't the type to say them, those three small words that would send me floating away on a hazy cloud of passion. Or maybe he didn't really love me... For all I know, it was only a strong sense of like that he felt for me. 

_ ==Kaede== _   
I smiled to myself as I cuddled closer to Akira. It's tantalizingly exciting, what his whispered words could do to me. It was all I could do to keep my body on the ground and not float away. I used to think that this obsession of mine was dangerous, but I've proven otherwise.   
I don't know why or how, but I could sense his inner turbulence, his doubt about how much I felt for him. Granted, I love him very much, and I really wanted to tell him so, but for some weird, ironic reason, I enjoyed the torture I was putting him through.   
_ Eventually, _ I thought. _ When I find it in myself to tell him.   
In the meantime... _

_ ==Akira== _   
The next couple of weeks continued in the same fashion. We would go out to a movie or to the arcade - or even just the basketball court - then head over to the beach to watch the sunset.   
I was starting to lose hope of hearing what I wanted to hear oh-so-very much... My resolve had not yet broken due to the fact that I love Kaede and understand that he's just not the expressive kind of guy...   
*****   
The weeks turned into months, yet still the words never poured out of his mouth.   
OFtentimes, I'd had to turn to Koshino for advice, asking if I should hold out and keep waiting - frankly, I was getting impatient.   
My best friend, though, wouldn't let me give up on 'us'. "You're crazy about him. And he's crazy about you. You know that, right?" It wasn't a question, it was a direct statement.   
I could only stay silent. 

_ ==Kaede== _   
"I love you."   
Somehow, I just couldn't bring myself to return those words to him. They were familiar to me, having been said in his rich baritone, but... They had felt foreign to me when I had attempted to say them, so I didn't.   
I wanted to tell him as much as he wanted to hear it. But some unseen force was preventing me from doing so.   
So instead, I settled for leaning against his muscular athletic frame.   
We were walking side by side aling the shoreline. The dolphins weren't out playing that day, and it had been cloudy all afternoon, so the sunset wasn;t all that spectacular. Still, it was wonderful, having Akira by my side and doing nothing.   
Akira and I walked up to the dunes to our left and settled down. I felt something prick my hand.   
It was a small shell, very much like those which I used to look for with my parents when I was younger. It brought back fond memories. I smiled to myself [A/N: yet again! 0_o] just as Akira turned his head to look at me.   
Out of the corner of my eye, I saw him suppress a smile of his own. I took that to mean that I don't smile too much. Heck, give me a reason to and I will.   
I looked back down at the shell. It was reddish pink in coolor - or was that just the sun?   
Or was it by coincidence that it was of that color and happened to prick me when I was pondering on how to tell him exactly what he wanted to hear?   
I took it as a sign. Besides, I'd already tortured him for months, why prolong it even further? And I was already annoyed with myself for taking so long.   
I pressed the shell against his palm with my fingers, and took a deep breath, praying for the words to come out of my mouth before I could yield to my self-induced pressure and lose courage. "Akira..." 

_ ==Akira== _   
At the sound of his voice, I turned to face him.   
He was pressing something into my hand. I looked down and saw a very pretty shell. I remember my sister and I used to look for those before I left for Ryonan. I smiled, remembering how she would run to me whenever she found one. _ Pink had always been her favorite color..._   
"...I love you." The words pushed past his lips and out into the open.   
My initial reaction was to be stunned. Who knew Rukawa Kaede was capable of displaying such and such emotions?   
Then, the words he had uttered began to sink in.   
_ I love you..._ The words echoed in my head. Voice trembling, I responded, "I love you too, Kaede," although I knew he didn't really need to hear it.   
And at that moment, words were no longer needed. Only silence passed between us as I closed my hand over the shell, deciding that I would keep it as the memento of the day he finally said 'those words'.   
And that was all that was needed.   
"I love you, Akira." 

_ ~owari~ _

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So, whatcha think? Since - as I said - this is (or is it supposed to be 'was'?) my first attempt at writing a fic with my own plot in mind... So, be kind. Constructive criticism allowed. Destructive criticism a.k.a. flames not appreciated... In other words, go easy on me... Please?... 

_ Acknowledgements:   
Isys, for the 'inner turbulence' phrase... That's the name of her blog...   
Chicken Soup for the Teenage Soul III ['Sea Glass'], for the shell idea... Originally, I was using sea glass... _


End file.
